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墨書 Inktalez
Ruyi Cosmetic Shop
Xing Ruyi heard a sound and glanced outside.
She had expected the fortune teller to either be a frail old man with an ethereal presence or a middle-aged man who looked somewhat like a fraud, but she never imagined that the person standing outside Uncle Wang's house would be a handsome young man who even appeared a bit shy.
Especially when his gaze met Xing Ruyi's, while she was examining his appearance, he blushed and quickly looked away.
“Is Uncle Wang in? I have an appointment with him. I came to pick up the talking Turtle.”
“Uncle Wang is feeling unwell today and is resting in his room. As for the talking Turtle, Uncle Wang has already informed me. As soon as you arrive, I will hand over the Turtle to you.”
Xing Ruyi pointed to the Turtle that was clinging to her shoe, desperately trying to grab onto it with its claws.
“In that case, please trouble yourself to give this payment for the Turtle to Uncle Wang.”
The young fortune teller stepped inside. Upon seeing the Turtle on the ground, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out to grab it. The Turtle clung tightly to Xing Ruyi's shoe and began shouting loudly: “I won't go! I won't leave even if I die! You have to save me! You must listen to my story before you can save me. You're lying; your words don't count!”
Xing Ruyi squatted down and tapped on the turtle shell a few times.
“First of all, I am not lying because you are a Turtle. As for me, I can barely be considered someone who has tricked a talking Turtle. Secondly, I never said that just because I hear your story, I must save you. It's something you can consider. If your story is compelling or if you truly feel wronged, I might consider saving you. Lastly, even if I wanted to save you, it is Uncle Wang who is selling you, and this gentleman who is buying you. If they do not speak up, there’s nothing I can do.”
“There is a way; you must have a way. Looking at your attire, it doesn’t seem like you're from a poor family. If you give him some extra money, he will definitely resell me to you.”
“But I—” Xing Ruyi poked at the turtle shell again: “Why should I buy you?”
“I—”
The Turtle choked up and fell silent.
“Why don’t you come up with a reason why I must buy you right now? Of course, even if I'm willing to pay for you, if that gentleman doesn’t want to sell me to you, there’s nothing I can do. But if you provide a reason, it might give yourself a better chance.”
The turtle retracted its head and glanced at the Fortune Teller, then said, "He didn't come to buy me; he came to kill me. I have a grudge against him from our past lives."
"A grudge from a past life! What makes you say that?"
Xing Ruyi looked at the young fortune teller, only to find that he was also staring at the turtle lying at her feet with a strange expression.
"He has been reincarnated, so he doesn't remember," the turtle said, pulling its neck in again. "Yama, in order to punish me, did not allow me to be reborn but instead sent a very fierce-looking and foul-mouthed Ghost Messenger to randomly find a Soft-Shelled Turtle by the river and forced me into it. So, I remember everything clearly from our past lives. His previous life was my daughter-in-law who died with resentment. At that time, I begged Yama to let me keep one thing, and that was him; I deliberately asked Yama to let me keep my voice."
"So that's why you became a talking turtle in this life, but one that is neither male nor female. I imagine you've faced quite a bit of discrimination among turtles over the years?"
Xing Ruyi couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
The turtle glared at her.
"Alright, alright, I didn't mean to laugh at you; I just couldn't help it." Xing Ruyi tapped the turtle's shell. "So what happened next? If he did nothing wrong, why did he choose to become a fortune teller in this life?"
"That's because he felt that being a woman in his last life was too painful, so he begged Yama to let him be reborn as a man this time. I don't know what Yama was thinking, but he actually agreed. Not only did he agree, but he also allowed him to be a fortune teller with divination abilities in this life while punishing me by making me this turtle, allowing him to roast my shell and take revenge for his past grievances."
"Indeed, it's a case of grievances in this life leading to enmity in the next; it's all about settling scores," Xing Ruyi shook her head. "Hearing you say this makes me feel even less inclined to help you. Think about it: if I help you break free in this life, then in the next life you'll definitely have to repay it. Whether it's sooner or later, it's still repayment; it would be better to settle it cleanly in this life and avoid lingering attachments in the next."
The turtle stared blankly at Xing Ruyi for a while before sullenly retracting its head into its shell.
"Perhaps you're right."
Xing Ruyi lightly tapped her chin and picked up the turtle, handing it over to the young fortune teller.
"Though there are debts of vengeance and grievances to settle, if you strip him of his shell in this life, he will surely harbor resentment in his heart. This resentment might even entangle your next lives together. If what he says is true—that you were his daughter-in-law in your previous life and suffered quite a bit of injustice, even enough to not want to be a woman anymore—then you certainly wouldn’t want to see him again.
Yama allowed you to become a fortune teller and granted you some divination abilities perhaps so that you could see through the causes and effects of this world and the myriad cycles of reincarnation. This turtle is now in your hands; as for what happens next, it's up to you."
"I may not remember whether I had a past life or if I hold any grudges against it, but one thing I have never understood is why there are so many turtles at this fish market, yet I only want to peel off their shells. After hearing it speak just now and listening to what you said, I suddenly feel enlightened. Although I still have my stubbornness, I have let go of much. Rest assured, I will carefully consider your words."
The young fortune teller took the talking turtle away. Xing Ruyi, though unsure if she had done the right thing or not, felt that this was the best outcome. She was not inherently good, but neither was she a bad person; she was simply someone who had a sense of right and wrong and acted based on her feelings. From what the turtle had done, she did not wish for it to have a good ending, as it had not been a good being in its previous life. However, she also felt a twinge of reluctance at the thought of watching a turtle being stripped of its shell alive, so she decided to leave the matter in the hands of the fortune teller.
The silver coins were heavy, probably weighing around twenty to thirty taels—enough for a common family to live on for half a year. Xing Ruyi handed over the silver left by the fortune teller to Uncle Wang and then followed her memory to find Ling'er. Just as she was halfway there, she saw Ling'er standing next to an incredibly handsome man dressed in white like an immortal.
Suppressing her urge to rush over, she stood her ground with her hands on her hips and angrily shouted, "Stinky Fox! You abandoned me on our first outing after marriage! Are you trying to provoke me?"
The fox smiled as he looked at Xing Ruyi's dramatic display and calmly pointed around them. "Madam, please be mindful of your image."
Xing Ruyi pouted, glanced around, and then lifted her skirt to fly over. When she reached the fox, she intended to hug him but noticed Ling'er standing nearby with her mouth covered, looking amused. So she silently lowered her skirt.
"Yin Chensi, I warn you; if you dare to disappear again or abandon me casually, I will no longer want you."
The fox touched his nose and replied, "It seems that this time it was you who got lost because you were too enamored with Osmanthus Cake."
"Nonsense! With your abilities, how could I possibly lose you?"
Xing Ruyi retorted while poking the fox's chest. Before her fingers could touch his firm chest muscles beneath his clothing, she caught a whiff of floral fragrance. The scent was subtle and did not resemble the typical perfumes used by women; instead, it reminded her of the natural floral scents found in mountain fields.
Xing Ruyi understood that this fragrance could not have come from the wilderness itself but rather from someone or something related to it.
From the fox's earlier behavior, it was clear he was hiding something, and her intuition told her that this matter was definitely not simple.
Finding an excuse to send Ling'er away, Xing Ruyi raised an eyebrow and got straight to the point: "Come on now, confess honestly; those who cooperate will be treated leniently while those who resist will face severe consequences. You know the rules of my family."
"Fox Demon, it's not what you think," the fox said helplessly.
“Fox Demon? Just a moment ago, you were calling me 'my lady,' and now when I ask you to be honest, you turn into a Fox Demon. Yin Chensi, are you doing this on purpose? Are you deliberately trying to tell me that you've been seduced by a female demon and that you actually have some feelings for her?”
The woman's unreasonable persistence was something the fox understood, but he hadn't expected to find himself in such a situation. He looked at Xing Ruyi with some distress, unsure whether to call her 'my lady' again or continue referring to her as Fox Demon.
If he called her 'my lady,' it would only confirm her suspicions and solidify the fact that he had been seduced by a female demon.
If he called her Fox Demon, she would interpret it as a sign of distance, and he would still be unable to escape the suspicion of being entangled with a female demon.
Caught in this dilemma was essentially his current predicament.
Seeing her pout, looking as if she would cry if he didn't explain himself soon, the fox felt a pang of pain in his heart. He had brought her to the mortal realm today to help her relax, but if she ended up crying on the way back, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to Madam Mo Lu or Yin Yuan, and he certainly wouldn't have any answers for Father and the Empress either. But if he tried to explain now, how could he possibly clarify things in such a short time?
After thinking it over from every angle, he could only firmly wrap her in his arms and say, “I’m taking you to meet someone!”
“A woman?”
“No! A tigress!”
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